Criminal Justice News

Friday, June 15, 2012

Mechanicsburg Doctor and Owner of Two Medical Facilities Charged with Embezzlement from Employee Pension Plan

The United States Attorney’s Office for
the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that a Mechanicsburg doctor
and owner of two Central Pennsylvania medical facilities was indicted Wednesday
by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg on charges he embezzled funds from an
employee pension plan.

According to United States Attorney
Peter J. Smith, Dr. Timothy Clark, age 43, is a medical doctor and
pulmonologist and the sole owner of Central Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates
(CPPA) and Sleep Disorder Centers of Central Pennsylvania.

In 2005, Clark established the Central
Pennsylvania Pulmonary Associates 401(k) plan for the benefit of his employees.
The employees contributed to the 401(k) plan by having funds withheld from
their paychecks. Clark, as the owner of CPPA and the trustee of the 401(k)
plan, was responsible for forwarding the withheld funds from the employee
contributions and depositing into their 401(k) plans.

From on or about July 2010 through
December 2011, it is alleged that Clark withheld the employee contributions and
maintained them in bank accounts he controlled. Clark employees have allegedly
lost approximately $25,000 of their retirement funds.

Clark was taken into custody Wednesday
and appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson. Clark is
scheduled to be arraigned on June 19, 2012.

If convicted, Clark faces a maximum term
of five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the United
States Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; the
United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector
General; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted
by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Terz.

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An indictment or information is not
evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury
and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is
presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United
States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the
defendant has pled guilty to the charges.